Power Rangers-The Forgotten
by Eugol Dlareg
Summary: Several years before Zordon recruited a team of "Teenagers with Attitude" to combat Rita Repulsa, he recruited another team of teenagers to take up the mantle of Power Rangers, a team that has been denied their place in the annals of history... until now.
1. Chapter 1

**POWER RANGERS-BEFORE THE DUMPSTER**

_By Eugol Dlareg_

Legal disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers franchise, save what I create for this story. The Power Rangers franchise is owned by Saban, and was originally created by Haim Saban, based on properties created by Toei. This series is loosely based on _Chōjin Sentai Jetman_ which itself was loosely based on _Science Ninja Team Gatchaman_, which was created by Tatsuo Yoshida.

PROLOGUE

_In late summer 1993, an international space agency sent several space travelers to investigate a new planet that mysteriously appeared in orbit between Earth and Mars. During their investigation, the space explorers inadvertently released the dreaded Rita Repulsa. After the release of Rita and her minions, Zordon, an inter-dimensional being on the side of good, directed his robotic assistant Alpha 5 to recruit five "teenagers with attitude" to defeat Rita Repulsa. These teenagers became what was believed to be the first in a long line of superheroes known to the world as "Power Rangers." However, contrary to what is believed, they were not the first. Several years earlier, another group of teenagers took up the mantle of Power Rangers..._

**PROLOGUE-SOMEWHERE IN DEEP SPACE, LATE JANUARY, 1961**

The prison capsule had been traveling through space for over 100 millennia, on a path specifically designed so that it would fly through space forever, never coming within a light year of a planet occupied by sentient life. At least that was the plan when the capsule was launched into space all those years ago. What those who designed the capsule's flight did not count on was a single asteroid, about the size of a golf ball. Flying through the vacuum of space, the asteroid struck the capsule, sending it off course...

**SUNNY HILLS COMMUNITY CENTER, SUNNY HILLS, CALIFORNIA **

**FEBRUARY 15, 1986 11:00 A.M.**

Jake Slater came into the main area of the youth center, wearing a gi with black jacket, white pants, and a white belt. He had a black gig bag, containing a black Gibson Les Paul strapped to his back. He came to a table where his friends Sean Griffin, Neville McIntosh, and Kimiko Takashi were sitting. "Hi Jake," Kimiko said. "You ready for your first karate lesson?"

"I have to admit, I'm a little nervous," Jake said.

"Why?" Kimiko asked.

"I'm afraid I'll mess up and embarrass myself," Jake said.

"You have nothing to worry about," Kimiko said.

"Of course not," a red haired girl the same age as Jake and his friends said. She had her hair tied back in a ponytail, and was wearing a red gi with a sleeveless jacket and pants tucked into black tabi boots, and a black belt.

"That's a relief," Jake said, as the girl walked away.

"I just have to do something with my guitar during my lesson," Jake said.

"We'll keep an eye on it for you," Neville said.

"We know how much that guitar means to you," Sean said.

"Thanks guys," Jake said, handing the guitar over to his friends.

A few minutes later, Jake was warming up with the rest of the class. After warming up and stretching, the sensei put the class through their paces. Jake tried to keep up, watching the rest of the class to try to figure out what to do, but his inexperience showed through. After a couple minutes, the sensei stopped the class, and whispered something in the ear of the girl Jake saw before class. "Just relax," she said, approaching Jake. "Sensei doesn't expect you to be Bruce Lee your first day."

"It's kind of hard to figure out what I'm trying to do," Jake said.

"That's what I'm here for," the girl said. "Besides, everyone else has been here for at least the last few weeks. If it makes you feel any better, I can work with you one on one to get you up to speed."

"You'd do that?" Jake asked.

"That's what I'm here for," the girl said. "The first thing I want to teach you is sensei's number one rule: never be afraid to ask anyone for help. By the way, my name's Julie Scott."

"I'm Jake Slater," Jake said.

With Julie working with him one on one, Jake quickly learned a few basic blocks and strikes. When the class ended, he bowed to her, and bowed to the sensei before leaving the class area. "Hopefully next time I won't look like a total fool," Jake said.

"You actually did pretty good for your first lesson," Julie said.

"Thanks," Jake said. "I think I'm going to grab a shower."

"Good idea," Julie said. "Meet you back here in 15?"

"Sure," Jake said.

Jake came out of the locker room 15 minutes later, wearing a black KISS t-shirt he bought at the concert he attended the previous week, with blue jeans and black high top sneakers. Julie came out of the girl's locker room wearing a Calgary Flames sweatshirt worn off one shoulder, faded skintight blue jeans tucked into white socks, and white leather sneakers. "So what do you have going on for the rest of the afternoon?" Julie asked.

"I was going to grab my guitar and head over to the music room," Jake said. "There's usually someone there to jam with."

"How long have you been playing?" Julie asked.

"Since I was 9," Jake said, as he and Julie walked to where Sean, Neville, and Kimiko were sitting.

"How was your first karate lesson?" Sean asked, as Neville gave Jake his guitar.

"Pretty good for a first timer," Julie said.

"Julie," Jake said, "these are my friends Andre and Kimiko, and Sean. Guys, this is Julie, she's in my karate class."

"Nice to meet you," Kimiko said. "You guys hungry? We were about to get some burgers from the snack bar."

"I could really go for a burger," Julie said.

"And I don't feel like jamming on an empty stomach," Jake said.

**MEANWHILE, ON THE MOON...**

The prison capsule crash landed on the moon, roughly 100 kilometers from the Sea of Tranquility. As the capsule landed, the sole occupant, an evil sorceress named Morrigan Le Fey was released from the stasis field that she had been imprisoned in all those years. "Ain't that a bitch," Morrigan said. "I get awoken from suspended animation in the middle of a good dream. Anyways, might as well find out where I am." She exited the capsule, and looked around, finally noticing Earth in the sky. "Hmm, a planet," she said. "I wonder if it's habitable." She waved her hand, and images of daily goings-on in various cities appeared in front of her. "Sentient life, as well as civilization. All the better for me to take over." She waved it again, and the images disappeared, to be replaced by a palace. "I'm back in business!" Morrigan announced as she entered the palace, as loud and proud as she could. "Draevyn!" she called.

"I'm here, your evilness," said a tall, skinny man who looked like he would have trouble lifting a bag of feathers, which, ironically enough, was Draevyn's greatest strength, as it caused opponents to underestimate him. "What is your bidding?"

"Assemble the Druids," Morrigan said, pointing to Earth in the sky. "Now that I'm free, I'm going to conquer that planet out there."

"You mean Earth," Draevyn said. "There might be one little problem with that."

"What's that?" Morrigan asked.

"Zordon of Eltar," Draevyn said. "He's the protector of this planet."

"That might cause a problem," Morrigan said. "Why don't you go out and see what he's up to."

**A HIDDEN CITADEL ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF SUNNY HILLS**

Gargarax was busy going over his daily report when the alarm went off. He went over to his computer, looked at the readout that was being printed, and pressed a few buttons. A cylindrical crystal column at one end began to glow purple, and a large, floating, holographic head appeared. "Gargarax," the head said.

"I'm sorry I had to call you like this," Gargarax said, "but this is big."

""Why did you contact me?" the head asked. "And what do you mean, this is big?"

"Morrigan Le Fey," Gargarax said. "She somehow escaped captivity, and has set up shop on the moon."

"She's likely to try to conquer Earth," the head said. "I need you to execute Protocol 49-J."

"You don't mean..." Gargarax said.

"I do mean,,," the head said.

"Teenagers," Gargarax and the head said in unison.

"How many do you need?" Gargarax asked.

"I need five," the head said. "They need to be between the ages of 15 and 17."

**SUNNY HILLS COMMUNITY CENTER**

Jake Slater, Julie Scott, Sean Griffin, Neville McIntosh, and Kimiko Takashi had just finished eating, and were talking. "I've seen you at school before," Julie said to Jake. "In fact, I've seen all of you, but never talked to any of you before."

"I thought you looked familiar," Jake said. "All through class, I couldn't remember where I'd seen you before, but I realized we go to the same school."

Before any of the teenagers knew what happened, the 5 of them were teleported away to the citadel where Gargarax was monitoring the activities of Morrigan Le Fey.

"What just happened?" Kimiko asked.

"Where are we?" Neville asked.

"You're in my command center," Gargarax said. "And as for what you're doing here, I brought you here, on orders from my superior."

"And who would your superior be?" Kimiko asked.

"That would be me," the floating head said. "I am Zordon, an interdimensional being from the planet Eltar. My assistant Gargarax and I brought you here because Earth needs you."

"Needs us for what?" Jake asked.

"Please observe the view-screen," Gargarax said. As the teens turned to observe the screen, an image of Morrigan Le Fey appeared. "This is Morrigan Le Fey," he continued. She's an evil sorceress who has recently escaped from eternal confinement in space."

"I have a question," Julie said, holding up her hand.

"And what is it, Miss Scott?" Zordon said.

"Okay, now I have two questions," Julie said. "But seeing as I have a feeling you'll get to my second in due time, I was wondering how you planned to confine her in space forever."

"She was placed in a suspended animation chamber, and the chamber was placed aboard a rocket, and the rocket was launched into deep space on a trajectory that was carefully planned so that it would not come within a light year of an inhabited planet," Gargarax said. "Unfortunately, it must have collided with an object in space that changed its trajectory. She wound up on the Moon, and she has set her sights on conquering Earth."

"I missed the part where this has anything to do with us," Kimiko said.

"I was getting to that," Zordon said. "The five of you will be fighting Morrigan Le Fey and her minions."

"How are we going to fight an evil space sorceress?" Chris asked.

"With these," Zordon said, as Gargarax pressed a button on his console. As he did, a device which resembled a wristwatch appeared on each of the teen's wrists. "These are your power morphers, they will allow you to access your new powers."

"Powers?" Jake asked. "What do you mean, powers?"

"You will become a team of superheroes known as the Power Rangers," Zordon said. "To activate your power, first activate your morpher by flicking your wrist, and hold it in front of you, touch the face, and call out the name of the bird which you represent. Jake Slater."

"Yes," Jake said, as he stepped forward.

"You will be the black Ranger," Zordon said. "You will be represented by the raven. Neville McIntosh."

"What?" Neville asked.

"Neville, you will be represented by the condor," Zordon said. "You will be the green Ranger. Sean Griffin."

"Here," Sean said.

"You will be the Blue Ranger," Zordon said. "You will be represented by the falcon. Kimiko Takashi."

"Reporting as ordered,," Kimiko said.

"You will be the Pink Ranger," Zordon said. "You will be represented by the swan. Julie Scott."

"I suppose I'm going to be the Red Ranger," Julie said.

"Why is it you suppose that?" Zordon asked.

"I noticed a pattern," Julie said. "Jake's wearing a black T-shirt, and you make him the Black Ranger. Neville's soccer jersey is predominantly green, you make him the Green Ranger. Sean's shirt is blue and white stripes, you make him the Blue Ranger. Kimiko's wearing a pink dress, you make her the Pink Ranger. And I'm wearing a red sweatshirt, so that obviously means I'm going to be the Red Ranger."

"You are correct," Zordon said. "You will be represented by the eagle."

"I suppose that means I'm supposed to be the..." Julie said, before being cut off by Neville.

"Yo, Wizard of Oz," Neville said, interrupting Julie. "There's something you forgot to take into consideration."

"And what would that be?" Gargarax asked.

"The fact you never asked any of us if we wanted any part of this," Neville said, storming off.

"I suppose this means one of us should go talk to him," Julie said.

"I say we all go talk to him," Jake said. "Try to talk some sense into him."

"And some manners too, while we're at it," Kimiko said.

"Agreed," Sean said, as they followed Neville outside the command center.

"What?" Neville asked, when he noticed the other teenagers had followed him outside the command center.

"If you're not going to join the team," Jake said, "the least you could do is apologize for how rude you just acted in there."

"Sure, I'll go apologize to the giant floating head," Neville said, "just as soon as he apologizes for basically kidnapping us and making us fight some intergalactic space witch and her minions."

"Oh, and I suppose if he had come to you and said "Hey Neville, why don't you let me give you superpowers so you and your friends can fight an evil sorceress who's just woken up from being in suspended animation for the last 100,000 years," you would have told him to go fuck himself," Julie said.

"I never said I would have in that circumstance," Neville said. "It would have been nice to have a choice."

"Oh really," Draevyn said, as he appeared in a puff of red smoke. "They send children to fight my queen."

"Who're you calling children?" Julie asked.

"The life of the oldest man who ever lived on this planet is to you an eternity," Draevyn said, "but to me his entire life is but a single beat of my heart."

"So you're old," Jake said.

"But if you serve Morrigan Le Fey," Kimiko said, "the five of us will see to it that you don't get much older."

"I think not," Draevyn said. "Druids attack!"

As Draevyn yelled his command, a hole opened in the fabric of space and time, and a wave of Druids, each wearing a hooded robe, emerged from it and attacked the teens. The teens tried to fight back, but were overwhelmed by sheer force of numbers. They eventually found themselves up against the face of one of the cliffs surrounding the citadel. "So what do we do now besides get our butts handed to us?" Sean asked.

"What about those doohickies the giant floating head gave us?" Jake asked. "Didn't he say they would give us powers?"

"Of course," Julie said. "Everybody activate your morphers."

"Check," Jake said, as everybody flicked their wrists, and the faces of their morphers transformed from watch faces to a bird motif. "It's Morphin Time!" Julie yelled, and they all touched the faces of their morphers.

"Raven!"

"Condor!"

"Falcon!"

"Swan!"

"Eagle!"

Each of the teenagers found themselves clad in skintight long sleeved white shirts, with a "V" across the front and back, with a stylized bird design across the chest, with the wings over their shoulders, gloves and boots that extended to just above the knees, and helmets, all in their respective Ranger colors, with Jake, Sean, and Neville wearing trunks in their respective Ranger colors, and Kimiko and Julie wearing miniskirts in their respective Ranger colors. Their helmets, while in their respective colors, had wings on the sides, outlined in white, with black visors, and beaks on the front, incorporated into the visors. Each of them had a white belt, with a buckle in their respective colors, with a white holster on their right hip, holding a laser blaster in their respective colors.

"Oh yes," Jake said, as they transformed. "I can feel the power."

"We all can," Neville said. "I bet I can take all these Druids on myself."

"We're a team," Julie said. "And we'll act like one."

"Right," the others said, as they charged back into battle.

They went into battle, and found that not only were they much more powerful, but Kimiko, Sean, and Neville, who had no training in hand-to-hand fighting, and Jake, who had one lesson in karate, found themselves somehow fighting like masters, while Julie found her skills had been enhanced as well. "It's uncanny," Sean said. "It's like we instinctively know how to fight."

While their newfound abilities gave them an early advantage, the fact they were still greatly outnumbered quickly negated their advantage. "Hey guys," Kimiko said, unholstering her blaster, "we have ray guns, I think we should use them."

"Great idea," Julie said, as she and the others unholstered their blasters, and began shooting their foes.

Using their blasters, the team made quick work of the Druids, and when the last one fell, they all took aim at Draevyn. "I believe this is my cue to take my leave," Draevyn said, disappearing before any of the Rangers could fire a shot at him.

"Too bad he got away," Kimiko said.

"I have a feeling we'll have another crack at him soon," Neville said, as they were teleported back to the Citadel.

As the Rangers returned to the Citadel, they transformed back to their civilian identities. "We were sure lucky this time," Sean said.

"I don't think luck had anything to do with it," Julie said.

"I have to agree with you," Zordon said. "I know it was your first time working together, but you made as fine a team of superheroes that have ever existed."

"I don't know about the rest of you," Jake said, "But I think we can do a lot of good together."

"I agree," Julie said. "I'm in. How about the rest of you?"

"Count me in," Jake said.

"I guess this means I'm the Blue Power Ranger," Sean said.

"I'm sorry about how I acted earlier," Neville said.

"Apology accepted," Zordon said.

"Good," Neville said, "Because now that I'm the Green Power Ranger, I want us to not be on bad terms."

"I don't know," Kimiko said.

"You have doubts?" Gargarax asked.

"I just don't think the five of us can make all that much of a difference," Kimiko said.

"I don't think we can make a difference," Jake said, "I know we can."

"Don't forget," Gargarax said, "It won't just be the five of you. Zordon and I are here for you, and you will have other allies that will reveal themselves in time."

"And the blasters you wielded in your last battle aren't the only weapons at your disposal," Zordon said. "You have other weapons and equipment which will become available to you when you need them,"

"In that case," Kimiko said, "I'm in."

"Now listen carefully, this is very important," Zordon said. "There are three rules you must follow if you wish to remain Power Rangers. The first rule is, never use you powers for personal gain, Second, never escalate a battle unless your opponent forces it. Third, only reveal your identities as Power Rangers when absolutely necessary."

"I speak for all of us when I say this," Julie said, "we accept."


	2. Chapter 2

**POWER RANGERS-BEFORE THE DUMPSTER**

_By Eugol Dlareg_

Legal disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers franchise, save what I create for this story. The Power Rangers franchise is owned by Saban, and was originally created by Haim Saban, based on properties created by Toei. This series is loosely based on _Chōjin Sentai Jetman_ which itself was loosely based on _Science Ninja Team Gatchaman_, which was created by Tatsuo Yoshida.

**EPISODE 2-PHOENIX FOR THE FLAME**

SUNNY HILLS COMMUNITY CENTER, SUNNY HILLS, CALIFORNIA

FEBRUARY 15, 1986, 2:30 P.M.

"Now where did I leave my guitar?" Jake asked, as he, Julie Scott, Kimiko Takashi, Sean Griffin, and Neville McIntosh reentered the community center.

"Excuse me, Jake," a blonde haired girl around 11 years old said, "I know you don't like anyone touching your ax, but when you and your friends left all of a sudden, you left it, I took it over to Mr. Ashland so he could keep an eye on it for you."

"Thanks, Karen," Jake said.

Jake had retrieved his guitar from Mr. Ashland, who ran the snack bar at the community center, and had gone to the music room, where there were a few people there ready to jam. He plugged his guitar into one of the amplifiers, and as he was tuning it, he was greeted by a long haired male who was a few years older than him, who was wearing a Led Zeppelin T-shirt with the sleeves cut off, tight fitting black jeans, and black Nike sneakers. "Slater," he said. Noticing the T-shirt Jake was wearing, he continued, "so how was the concert?"

"Hey Cobra," Jake said. "The concert was great, but the best part was after the show."

"What happened?" Cobra asked.

"You mean Ricky didn't tell you?" Jake asked.

"No," Cobra said.

"Anyways," Jake said, "after the show, we stopped at Buccaneer Burger for some late night grub, and you wouldn't believe who we saw there."

"Who did you see?" Cobra asked.

"You mean, Ricky didn't tell you?" Jake asked.

"Hey wombmate," Ricky Slater, Jake's identical twin brother, said from behind his drum kit. "I was waiting for you to show him the picture."

"Oh yeah," Jake said, going to his gig bag, and taking out a photograph of the band KISS, with Jake standing between Paul Stanley and Eric Carr, Ricky standing next to Bruce Kulick, and Gene Simmons sticking out his tongue. He showed it to Cobra. "They were on their way back to their hotel, and wouldn't you know it, Eric wanted a burger."

"We were lucky I had my camera with me," Ricky said.

"Anyways," Cobra said, as a girl around Jake and Julie's age plugged a Fender bass into another amp, "Ricky, Charlie, and I were just waiting for some to play lead so we can jam. You think you're up for it?"

"I'll try my best," Jake said.

"You guys need a lead singer?" Julie Scott asked, as she came into the music room, and removed her shoes and socks.

"Sure," Cobra said. "I was going to be the lead singer, but sometimes I find it harder to concentrate on my playing if I'm singing, too. All the microphones are plugged in, if you want to move around, I suggest taking a wireless microphone, just make sure it's turned on first."

"By the way," Jake said, as he grabbed a pick from a strip that was taped to a microphone stand, "That's Daniel Pearson, aka Cobra, on rhythm guitar, Charlotte Jennings, aka Charlie on bass, and on drums is my twin brother Ricky. Guys, this is Julie Scott, I guess she'll be on lead vocals."

"Jake and I are identical twins," Ricky said, "just in case you didn't notice."

"There's a projector, and I'll put the words up in case you need them," Charlie said.

"Thanks," Julie said. "That ought to help a lot."

The band warmed up for a minute, and began playing. The band did some heavy metal and hard rock songs, starting out with "Detroit Rock City"(their first song), "Strutter", and "Shout it out Loud"(in which Jake shared lead vocals with Julie, she doing Paul Stanley's lines, while he did Gene Simmons') by KISS, "Living After Midnight" and "Breaking the Law" by Judas Priest, "Looks that Kill" by Motley Crue, "Heartbreaker" and "Hit me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar, "Helter Skelter" by the Beatles, and finishing with "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin.

After they finished up their set, Ricky put on a gray T-shirt, and began to disassemble his drum kit, while Karen, the girl Jake had talked to when he came back to the Community Center, talked to him. "Hey Ricky," Jake said, "you going straight home?"

"Yeah, why?" Ricky asked.

"Tell mom Wes went home sick, and I'll be covering for him for a couple hours," Jake said.

"You work here?" Julie asked.

"I work part time at the snack bar during the week, and on the odd Saturday," Jake said. "I'm not exactly going to get rich doing it, but it keeps gas in my Microbus, and a little change in my pocket for things like KISS concerts."

"I noticed your shirt," Julie said. "You saw them last weekend?"

"Yeah, Ricky and I had front row seats," Jake said, as he and Julie walked to the snack bar, where Jake clocked in, put on an apron, and washed his hands. "The best part was after the show. Ricky and I went to Buccaneer Burger for some post-concert chow, and apparently, Eric Carr was jonesing for a cheeseburger. There's a pocket on the front of my gig bag, I have a picture Ricky and I took with the band in it."

"Might as well," Julie said. "Since I'm volunteering to watch your guitar for you while you're working. How late you staying, anyways?"

"I'm only here until 6," Jake said. "I only have to stay until Tony gets here, he starts at 6, and he's never late."

Julie had gotten the picture out of Jake's bag, and looked at it. "That's so awesome," she said. "I can't believe you just ran into them at Buccaneer Burger like that."

"Ricky and I have been KISS fans for a few years," Jake said. "Ever since _Alive II_ came out. In fact, this is the third time we've seen them since they took the makeup off."

"Mind if I ask you a personal question?" Julie asked.

"Depends on how personal," Jake said. "Actually, go ahead and ask it, and if I think it's a little too personal, I'll tell you to fuck off."

"Were you and Ricky born as Siamese twins?" Julie asked.

"How'd you know?" Jake asked.

"When you took the jacket from your gi off after class," Julie said, "I noticed a scar on your lower back, and when I met Ricky, I saw a similar scar on his lower back. My dad's a surgeon, and I know a surgical scar when I see one. Also, Ricky told me that the two of you were identical twins. I saw that identical twins had similar, and obviously surgical, scars on the same spot on their bodies, and went into Sherlock Holmes mode. So how old were the two of you when they separated you?"

"We were four," Jake said. "The one thing I distinctly remember is that he and I threw a humongous fit when they brought us to the hospital for the surgery."

"I take it the two of you didn't want to be separated," Julie said.

"Pardon the pun," Jake said, "but Ricky and I had become quite attached to one another. Something happened, and they had to keep us sedated for a while after the surgery, but afterwards, once our scars healed enough that we could take the bandages off, and we finally went home, we used to sleep with our scars touching."

"Why would you do that?" Julie asked.

"We were little kids," Jake said. "We didn't know any better, we got it in our heads that if we slept with the scars from where we were separated touching, our connecting band would regrow itself. After a while, we finally realized that wasn't going to work, so we tried gluing ourselves together. Fortunately for us, we got caught."

"What do you mean fortunately?" Julie asked.

"Our mother caught us," Jake said. "She rushed us to the emergency room, and the doctor said that we had gotten there a few minutes later, infection would have set in, because our scars were still relatively fresh, and would probably have been fatal. After that incident, they were finally able to convince us that being separate might not be all that bad."

Jake and Julie continued to talk while Jake was working, and when a tall, red haired guy a year older than them arrived and clocked in. "You can take off now," he said.

"Thanks, Tony," Jake said, taking off his apron and clocking out. "So you need a ride home?" he asked Julie.

"Sure," Julie said.

They left the Community Center, and walked to a black and white 1962 Volkswagen Microbus, Jake put his guitar in the back, and they got in, Julie sitting in the passenger seat next to him. "You don't have to give Ricky a ride home?" Julie asked.

"He has a car of his own," Jake said. "Actually, it's a 1975 Datsun pickup, with a camper shell on the back. Not much to look at, but he's more concerned with the fact there's enough room back there for his drums."

"I guess that would be a big deal for a drummer," Julie said. "Speaking of your brother, you don't plan on telling him about..."

"Only if he asks about it, and doesn't take "I can't really talk about it" for an answer. "If it comes to that, and Zordon or Gargarax say anything about it, I'll tell them the truth, that I know my brother well enough to know he's not going to stop until I tell him the truth."

FEBRUARY 21, 1986, MALVERN HIGH SCHOOL, 3:00 P.M.

"Ugh, I thought this week would never end," Sean Griffin said.

"I hear you there," Neville McIntosh said. "So what do you have going on this weekend?"

"More than likely my dad's going to have some activity that he wants me and him to do together," Sean said. "And dollars to donuts, it's going to be something that interests him a lot more than it does me."

"Just be lucky you still have a father," Jake said, coming up behind Sean and Neville.

"Lucky?" Sean asked. "My dad operates on the mistaken assumption that I have exactly the same interests as he does."

"But he's still around," Jake said. "Remember, my dad died when I was 11."

"You got a point there," Sean said, as their communicators went off.

"What is it, Zordon?" Neville asked, as he, Sean, and Jake hid between two buildings.

"Trouble at Heritage Park," Zordon said. "Julie and Kimiko are under attack from Morrign le Fey's Druids."

"We're on it," Neville said, as he, Jake, and Sean teleported to the park.

When they arrived, they saw Kimiko and Julie, the Pink and Red Rangers respectively, engaged in battle with a squad of Morrigan Le Fey's Druids. "They just came out of nowhere," Kimiko Takashi said.

"Sounds like someone like Morrigan Le Fey would do," Sean said, as he, Jake, and Neville engaged the Druids in combat.

"I wonder where Dracula's kid brother is," Jake said, as he took one of the Druids out of the fight.

He's here somewhere," Kimiko said, as the teens made short work of their foes.

"You are correct," Draevyn said, as he appeared from thin air in a puff of red smoke. "But you won't be here for much longer. Attack them, my creature!"

The teens found themselves face to face with what could best be described as what you would get if an aardvark mated with a vulture, and the resulting offspring had 2 heads. "We're not going to be able to handle this thing without some help," Julie said. 

"It's Morphin Time!" Jake yelled, as the teens transformed into the Power Rangers.

"Swan!"

"Raven!"

"Falcon!"

"Condor!"

"Eagle!"

"Now you're in for it," the Red Ranger said, as the Rangers engaged the creature in combat.

"I think not," the creature said, with both heads simultaneously.

"Why not try blasters?" the Green Ranger asked.

"Good idea, Green," Red Ranger said, as the Rangers unholstered their blasters, and fired at the creature. The creature absorbed the blasts, storing the energy, and fired it back at the Rangers.

"So much for that idea," Black Ranger said.

"What now?" Pink Ranger asked.

"Anybody know Rambo's phone number?" Blue Ranger asked.

"This is no time to joke around, Blue," Red Ranger said, "although calling for help might not be such a bad idea."

The creature whipped its tail, sending the Rangers flying. It charged toward the Black Ranger, claws at the ready, and was about to carve his heart out, when it was stopped by a wall of flame. The Rangers looked to see where the flames came from, and saw another Ranger, this one's costume trimmed in yellow, orange, and red, with a helmet that appeared to be made of solid flames, as did the trim on this Ranger's costume. "I thought you could use a second to regroup," the new Ranger said, in a voice that made it obvious this new Ranger was female(if the skintight fit of her costume didn't make it obvious enough). "I also thought you could use these," she said, tossing the Rangers weapons. "Black Ranger," she said, tossing him a staff, "you will wield the quarterstaff. Green Ranger," she said, tossing him nunchakus, "you will wield nunchakus. Blue Ranger," she said, tossing him a battle ax, "you will wield the battle ax. Pink Ranger," she said, tossing her a bow and quiver of arrows, "you will wield the bow and arrow. Red Ranger," she said, tossing her a sword, "you will wield a sword. Rangers, as you are a team, so are your weapons. As effective as each of your weapons is alone, when they work together, they become much stronger and much more effective."

"Thank you," Red Ranger said, "whoever you are."

"You may call me the Phoenix Ranger," Phoenix Ranger said, disappearing as suddenly as she appeared. "Someday, you will learn my true identity. But for now, you have a monster to defeat."

"Right," Black Ranger said, engaging the monster with his quarterstaff. He lasted several minutes, and when he was defeated, each of the other Rangers engaged the monster with their own weapons, with the same results.

"Something just occurred to me," Pink Ranger said.

"Me too," Black Ranger said. "Something the Phoenix Ranger said. She said that as effective as our weapons are alone, they're more powerful when they work together. I know what that means, it means if we combined our weapons, we'll have one superweapon that's much more powerful than all our weapons combined."

"I think you're right," Red Ranger said. "Everybody, combine your weapons."

Blue Ranger transformed his battle ax into something resembling a rifle, to which Black Ranger added his staff, turning it into a barrel for the rifle, while Pink Ranger added her bow to transform the weapon into a crossbow, Green Ranger added his nunchakus as additional barrels, and Red Ranger added her sword, which made the weapon come to life. "Awesome," Red Ranger said. "I can feel the power in this weapon, I believe we now have more than enough power to send this monster back to hell." Red Ranger fired a shot from the weapon, which, when combined with her power, as well as the power from the other Rangers, was enough to destroy the monster.

"You have found a way to even the odds in our battle," Draevyn said. "I simply cannot have that, I must do something to restore the balance of power to my queen. Be aware that what I am about to do is in no way personal, but something I do as a duty to my queen." His right hand began to glow red, and he fired a blast of energy at Blue Ranger, sending him flying into a brick wall 100 feet away, which he hit with a sickening crunch.

"Zordon, we have a Ranger down," Red Ranger said. "We need you to teleport us out of here."

Back at the command center, the Rangers had transformed back into their civilian identities, while Sean Griffin was lying in a futuristic looking medical capsule. "How is he?" Julie asked.

"I'm very sorry," Zordon said. "There is nothing I can do for Sean except to ease his pain until he succumbs to his injuries. Wait a second, there is one other thing."

"You don't mean what I think you do?" Gargarax said. "I thought when you became guardian of Earth, you swore you would never take a human life."

"I will not take the life of this young man," Zordon said. "His life has already been taken by Draevyn, I am merely hastening the inevitable."

"This changes everything," Neville said. "Now, we know Morrigan Le Fey is playing for keeps."

"I don't know about you," Jake said, "But I'll be damned if I quit just because one of us gets killed, and I don't think Sean would want any of us to quit, and I'd be willing to bet a million dollars, my right nut, and my Les Paul that if it were any one of us in that med capsule dying, he'd carry on. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm leaving."

"I thought you said you weren't going to quit," Kimiko said.

"I'm not quiting," Jake said. "Unfortunately, even with the Phoenix Ranger, and our new weapons, the four of us aren't going to be able to defeat Morrigan Le Fey, Sean's death shifted the balance of power too much on her side. To make things even again, I'm going to go out and recruit us a new Blue Ranger, and I know just the person."

"I can sense who you have in mind," Zordon said. "You have made an excellent choice."


End file.
